Victoria Grading & Seminar Dec 2013

On the 7th of December Il Shim Taekwon-Do Melbourne hosted Master Michael Bou Daher for our final Masterclass and Grading for 2013.
Master Daher flew from Sydney on the Friday night which was fantastic as Michelle and I had the opportunity to enjoy dinner with Master Daher. It was great to relax over dinner and discuss 2013 and our achievements and also look forward to what 2014 will hold for ourselves and the organisation. There is certainly a lot to be proud of that happened in 2013 and so much to look forward to next year. We also took time to reminisce over the years we have known each other and the experiences we have shared and the people we have met along the way.
After an early night we had the absolute privilege for Michelle and I to spend two hours under the tuition of Master Daher. You might think that we spent two hours working on our patterns but we essentially worked on just three techniques, delving deep into the way the body moves before , during and following the technique. It was a fantastic experience and we both learned a great deal about the way we were moving our bodies during completion of our movements.
At around 10.15am students from the Melbourne and Latrobe Valley clubs began to arrive. We began the day with the final grading of the year. There were a large number of junior ranks all the way up to Elizabeth Williams grading for 1st Kup. Most students excelled but I was most proud of White Belt Yellow stripe Alastair who has come a long way this year. At one point this year Alistair was asked not to return to class due to his poor listening in class. Alastair took some time out and then came back with a vengeance and trained and graded so well that the he drew praise from Master Daher.
We then moved onto the Masterclass where Master Daher questioned students about their understanding of the movements within their patterns. Various movements were broken down within the patterns and everyone walked away with a much better understanding of what the movements were for. Lots of the students walked away with bruises after a lot of partner work, it was just like the old days!